


When I Say Vol, You Say Voltron

by Hayleythewriter



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comedy, Fluff, M/M, Romantic Comedy, Slow Burn, Takes place during season 3, enemies to friends to paladins to lovers, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 09:32:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11711625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hayleythewriter/pseuds/Hayleythewriter
Summary: Shiro is gone, so Keith flawlessly takes over as leader, Lance is perfect, and Lotor decides to stop hunting down Voltron and models in intergalatic shampoo commercials. Psych.Shiro is gone, Keith is freaking out, Lance is searching for where and with who he truly belongs, and Lotor has a new plan to destroy Voltron, though he should look into that shampoo thing because he would be a natural.feat. Hunk being a genius, Coran taking care of everyone, Allura kicking ass, and Pidge shaking their head because they TOTALLY CALLED THIS





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Season three was great, but imagine instead THIS happened

King Fano took a sip from his solid silver goblet, looking around his triangular dining table at his top advisors and generals. The most influential people in his kingdom had been invited to his dinner table to discuss the changes that must take place since Voltron had defeated the Galra control of their world. King Fano nodded as one advisor unfurled a map of the new territory distribution.

Suddenly, the huge rectangular metal doors flew open, and a tall man strode into the room, his long white hair flowing behind him. King Fano’s goblet spilled its orange liquid onto the floor, and the Commander of his armies stood swiftly. 

“Galra!” the Commander shouted, reaching for his concealed gun. Before his yellow fingers could feel the weapon, he was held at sword point by muscular Galra woman. 

King Fano’s heart nearly stopped, the Galra were supposed to be gone forever- 

“Hello, King Fano. Hello, various others.” The Galra man spoke, with the confidence of someone who loved their own voice. 

“Leave us be, Galra scum!” King Fano shouted, frantically trying to remember where he placed that communication device Voltron had gifted him. 

The Galra man clicked his tongue, and placed a hand on an advisor’s shoulder. The advisor’s large forehead began dripping sweat. 

“Now, now. I am Galra- guilty there. But I am by no means ‘scum’. My father, Zarkon, he destroyed every planet he touched. He made a slave out of everyone. However, Zarkon is dead and gone. As you might have heard. I rise to take his place, and I long for a time of peace.” 

“Galra don’t know the meaning of the word!” the Commander shouter, before the sword went deeper into his skin. 

“No killing,” The Galra man, Emperor it seemed, reprimanded the woman, who quickly released her grip on the Commander. The Advisors took note. 

“I come here with a heavy heart, in an attempt to apologize for my predecessors sins against your people. I stand before you, with an offer of alliance.” 

“Alliance?! With Galra?” King Fano stood, outraged. “Impossible!” 

“Not so. I know your planet was occupied by Galra for quite some time, and I can swear no Galra will set foot on your planet again. You shall still rule, of course, and for a monetary tax on your people, you shall be under Galra protection.” 

“Protection from what?” King Fano inquired. 

“Galra?” The Commander guessed, gruffly. 

“Voltron, of course. The biggest threat to freedom the universe has ever known.” The Galra man tilted his head, a single strand falling to the right of his pious face. 

“Galra lies! Voltron saved us, and countless others. They are heros.” 

“Yes, King Fano, Voltron saved you from my wicked father. But that should spark fear within you. Voltron is powerful- too powerful. No one can defeat them. You call them heros, but only because they decided you shared an enemy. This is a large kingdom. I assume there are others vying for your throne?” 

King Fano slowly nodded. 

The Galra man frowned, “What happens if one of those power hungry mongrols went to Voltron, begging for safety from your rule? Voltron answer to no one, but can kill all. This weapon must be defeated, and order must return to the universe.” He smiled, hopefully, “and I intend to usher in a new age, an age of posterity and protection. An age of safety and security. And most importantly, an age with no need for a super weapon.” 

The advisors muttered to each other, but King Fano just stroked his chin before responding, 

“Voltron helped us in our time of need.” 

“To serve their own agenda,” The Galra man countered. “That kind of power should not belong to anyone. Did you know Zarkon was a paladin of Voltron himself? Even now, the paladins should not be trusted. They are unstable, unreliable, and untrustworthy.” 

There was a dark silence in the room, as doubt oozed out of the Commander, the advisors, and King Fano himself. The Galra man studied each face, patient. The Galra woman folded her arms, impatient. 

“And you mentioned. . . a monetary tax, Emperor?” King Fano finally spoke. 

Galra man grinned, “Please, Emperor was my father. Call me Prince Lotor.” 

Another planet convinced. Lotor loved this game. 

Soon, he would destroy Voltron, while the rest of the universe cheered. 

\- - - - - 

“I know someone needs to say something, but why does it have to be me?!” Lance pointed an accusing finger at Pidge, though the question was for every paladin currently huddled in the kitchen. 

“Come on, dude, you know you’re the best at this kind of thing,” Hunk was trying to pull a puppy dog face, which would not work against the-youngest-child Lance. He invented the puppy dog face. 

“Okay, obviously, I’m the best.” Lance agreed, now appealing to Allura, “But have you ever seen a conversation between me and Keith? He’s impossible!” 

“You know that’s not true, especially lately,” Allura took a step towards Lance. “Please, Lance, at least try to talk to him.” 

"Keith’s brooding is an unmovable object, and your annoying yet endearing persistence is an unstoppable force.” Pidge explained, reaching up to rest a hand on Lance’s shoulder, “If anyone has a chance at getting through to Keith, it’s you.” 

Lance shrugged off their hand, “If I’ve learned anything since finding Blue, it’s that team work makes the dream work. So why don’t we go with my original plan, and all of us can talk to him? That way, Keith won’t just bite my head off when I criticize his leadership.” 

Pidge and Hunk shared a raised eyebrow look, while Allura shook her head, sadly, and said, “Lance, you know how reluctant Keith was to lead. If we all, just, ganged up on him, he might become panicked-“ 

“-Keith is in a fragile place right now,” Hunk interrupted, with his hands in a position of prayer, “We need our good ‘ol sharpshooter to hit the nail on the head, ya know?” 

Lance looked away, nose in the air, and folded his arms. “Fine. I’ll do it.” His head twisted back towards the three relieved paladins, “but only if Pidge admits I’m the sharpshooter.” 

“I’ll admit to nothing,” Pidge said immediately, before Allura pursed her lips, and Hunk nudged her ankle with his foot. They groaned, “Whatever, Lance, you’re a sharpshooter, congratulations, now go tell our fearless leader what he’s doing wrong!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, man

Keith was sitting in front of the black lion, attempting his latest theory to get Shiro back. If Zarkon was able to track the black lion, perhaps the connection could work both ways. Keith tried to deepen his union to Black, tried to peer through space through it’s eyes, tried to find any tug that might lead to Shiro. His legs were folded beneath him, eyes closed, and his mind was completely blank, except for one thought. Find Shiro. Find Shiro. Find-

“Hey, man.” Lance’s voice made Keith jerk straight up, eyes snapping open. 

“Lance!” Keith stood and smoothed his jacket, “I, didn’t notice you.” 

“Right,” Lance bobbed his head, just now realizing he had absolutely no game plan here. He knew what Keith needed to change, but how should he approach the subject? Subtly, probably. He could do subtle. 

“Any particular reason you’re in here?” Keith asked, after much too long of a pause. Lance internally kicked himself. 

“Um, yeah, I wanted to try again with the black lion, because I was thinking about some things I would do if I was the leader.” Heh, Lance internally fist pumped. He totally pulled that off, subtle as a brick in a brick wall. 

Keith shoved his hands into his pockets, and narrowed his eyes. “Huh. And what would you do?” 

“I’d stop trying to find Shiro all the time,” Lance blurted the first thing that came to mind. No! That was as subtle as a brick through a window. He needed to backtrack. 

Keith became all edges, even his jaw seemed extra defined, “If you have a problem with the way I lead, feel free to speak up.” 

“It’s just-“ Lance took a breath before blurting again, “It’s just, since, everything happened, you’ve spent every moment of every day trying to find Shiro. You can’t just keep doing that.” 

“I did it for a year, and look where it got me. I found Shiro. And with your blessing or not, I’ll find him again,” Keith asserted. Lance really wanted to backtrack. 

“Keith, we all know how you feel, because we’re feeling it too. But we have to focus on our bigger goal here. We have no idea who’s replaced Zarkon, if he’s been replaced, and there are still Galra flags flying everywhere. We need a plan.” 

“Then plan something Lance!” Keith snapped, arms in the air, “Or find Shiro, and have him plan something.” 

“Shiro’s not in charge anymore,” Lance couldn’t hide the pity in his eyes. Keith seemed broken. “Shiro’s not here. You’re our leader, now. It’s what he wanted for-“ 

“-wants.” Keith automatically corrected. 

“-wants.” Lance agreed, with a swift nod. He stepped closer to Keith. “We can end the Galra rule for good, because they have the chance to regroup. And once they’ve collapsed, all of us will find him again. Maybe before they’ve collapsed. Maybe we’ll slice open a fighter plane and Shiro will be all ‘took you guys long enough! I want my lion back’.” 

The corners of Keith’s mouth slowly turned up. Lance had always noticed Keith’s hair, but he’d never realized how fluffy it looked. Sort of soft, if he really thought about it. Keith blinked at the ground, before bringing his eyes back up to meet Lance’s gaze. 

“We don’t say this enough, Lance,” Keith began, “but, you are absolutely awful at impressions. Was that supposed to be Shiro’s voice?” 

Lance registered the insult, and blinked rapidly in offense, “Yeah, obviously. I sound just like him. ‘Lance, stop working so hard and take a well-deserved vacation’. Shiro definitely said that to me.” 

Keith laughed, the first time he’d laughed since- and he shoved that thought way down before he could even process it. “You sound like a 90 year old smoker.” He started to walk to the control room, reenergized with amusement. 

Lance followed closely on his tail, “His baritone voice is hard to recreate, okay? Give me a name, and I’ll impersonate it spot on. Go. Do it.” 

Keith continued walking, looking straight ahead, but offered, “Coran.” 

Lance scrunched up his face, “Okay, that’s not fair, he has an accent. Here, I’ll do you. ‘uh, I’m Keith, all the lions want me to be their pilot, I’m so edgy and cool’ wow, I’ve got your voice down! Let me try again, ‘I’m Keith, and I’m 50 percent Galra, 50 percent human, but 100 percent angst’.” 

Keith’s eyebrows furrowed and his hands clenched as his walk to the control room because more brisk, “Shut up, Lance.” 

Lance stayed a step behind him in silence for a few ticks, before mimicking back in his Keith impression, “’Shut up, Lance’” 

Keith didn’t feel guilty for responding with a shove, because a parroting Lance was a problem that needed to be stopped before it got out of control. 

\--------------- 

Prince Lotor was a Galra man, with a Galra plan. He was going to control every planet in the universe, with the help of the very weapon made to stop him. 

Turning citizens against Voltron was the easy part. Half of the appeal of Voltron came from myths and stories anyway. His anti-voltron propaganda slipped right in amongst the whispers. Did you know the paladins of Voltron were chosen at random? Did you know no one knew all the weapons Voltron had, because new ones could be discovered every battle? Did you know Voltron poisoned your water supply, burnt your crops, and delivered a plague upon your houses? So the last one was a tad dramatic, but panic and paranoia spread across communities anyway. 

Prince Lotor studied the hologram of the universe, and smirked as another planet turned purple of their own accord, pledging their corporation with a Galra alliance. 

His father’s methods were old and outdated. Lotor knew that to truly enslave a people, they had to believe they were still free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate all comments :) I know, I know, this is cheesy but I think I'm physically incapable of writing anything else.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voltron to the rescue, except maybe they should have practiced this a bit more

The paladins sat in their castle control chairs, with Coran’s attention on the screen flashing coordinates. After three long weeks dedicated to Shiro Search, Keith had finally called everyone together to create a plan of action.

Now, the castle was flying toward Norrtan, a planet Voltron had already freed from Galra control. They had received a distress signal from the Norrtaen Queen last night. Apparently, some Galra scientists had taken hostages and used a large, protected building by the Norrtaen castle as a labrotory. The Queen feared that they were creating a bomb, and begged Voltron to come and destroy it before its completion. 

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t go, I’m just saying it feels weird,” Hunk said, flicking his bangs back. “Why didn’t these scientists flee with the rest of the Galra forces? And how can the Queen tell it’s a bomb?” 

“Well, my scan did pick up on some sort of large device made of primarily Yukonium.” Coran spoke up, while Allura’s eyes widened in understanding. 

“Yukonium was the primary export of Norrtan,” she recalled, as Coran nodded. 

“It’s one of the most conductive metals in the galaxy. Many wars have been waged just for a fraction of the Yukonium found in Norrtan. Perfect for bombs,” Coran titled his head to the side, frowning at the screen, “however, the building it’s being constructed in seems to be guarded against my scans. I can’t get any more information on what’s inside.” 

“We need to figure out what the Galra are planning,” Keith fidgeted in his chair. Shiro’s chair. He gave his head a slight shake and tightened his grip on the chair’s arms. “This is the closest lead we’ve gotten.” 

“Only a few more doboshes, and we’re there,” Coran announced, twisting the end of his moustache. 

“First we’ll locate the bomb, and then form sword so we can destroy it as swiftly as possible,” Keith announced, as Lance slid out of his chair, and toward Allura. 

“How can we form sword if we can’t form Voltron?” Pidge questioned, slumped in their chair. 

“We will form Voltron, with Allura piloting Blue and Lance piloting Red.” Keith glanced at Pidge, “The sword is our strongest weapon. It’s our best chance.” 

“What?!” Pidge straightened up, their glasses sliding down their nose. 

Allura stood firmly with her feet apart, “I am honored to serve with you all on this mission.” 

“Blue chose my replacement wisely.” Lance threw a sparkling grin in Allura’s direction, “She must have a thing for beautiful paladins.” 

“Keith, Allura has flown Blue once before, and it was . . .” Pidge trailed off when they noticed Allura’s quizzical stare, Lance’s wide eyes, and frantic gesturing behind the princess’s back, “she might need some practice.” 

“Yeah, we couldn’t even form Voltron before, and that was in the comfort of our own castle.” Hunk spoke uneasily, fingers tapping. “Maybe we can try to stop this thing with four lions.” 

“No,” said Keith, firmly, much to Allura’s delight, “We need Voltron. Allura and Lance will be fine.” 

“Of course I’ll be fine!” Lance walked cockily toward Keith and rested a relaxed hand on the back of his chair, “You fly one lion, you’ve flown ‘em all, am I right?” 

“100 ticks away from landing,” Coran announced. 

“Everyone get to your lions,” Keith stood, walking past Lance, “And get ready to face any Galra forces that might be waiting. We don’t know how powerful this bomb is, but we’re not leaving this planet until it’s completely safe again. 

\- - - - - - - - - 

Prince Lotor sat on the Queen of Norrtan’s throne. The Queen herself was passed out on the floor to his right, while his blind general Narti stood awaiting orders behind him. She had already performed fantastically, possessing the Queen and calling on Voltron’s help. 

Prince Lotor watched on the Queen’s own surveillance system as the five lions descended into Norrtan’s atmosphere. They appeared to be flying a direct course toward the large, protected building next to the castle. Lotor’s fangs caught the light as his smile slowly spread. 

Right where he wanted them. 

\- - - - - 

Inside the large, protected building, Norrtean’s rushed about. There were no Galra in sight. In fact, there had not been a Galra on Norrtan in quite some time. 

“Hey, Tris,” Morbert, a tall Norrtean with bright orange feathers protruding from her purple head spoke, “have you seen the strings of light?” 

Tris rolled her three eyes, “Don’t concern yourself with the lights! I’m in charge of lights. You’re supposed to be adding flowers to the back.” 

“But our float will be paraded at sunfall,” Morbert whined, “so no one will even see the flowers. The lights are what everyone remembers.” 

Letting out a frustrated groan, Tris put an arm around Morbert and gestured with her other two hands at the sight around them. Norrtean excitedly, yet frantically, decorated a giant motorized parade float, made of solid Yukonium, which would keep it’s lights and engine powered. Tris spoke, 

“The Parade of Peace happens once a hundred years, and is our most sacred tradition. We, but more specifically I, have been charged with the honorable task of designing the royal float. And I say, we need to add flowers.” 

Morbert narrowed all three of her eyes, “Alright. I’ll add flowers. But can I be the one who adds the lights around our banner?” 

Tris glanced toward the twenty foot long, brilliantly decorated silk which read Peace Is Here. She gripped Morbert tightly, “Of course, comrade. Now get to gluing!” 

\- - - - - 

“We need to get inside to see the bomb,” Hunk said, his lion flying right behind Lance’s, until suddenly Lance’s Red lion was smacking into Keith’s Black. 

“Lance! What was that?” Keith flew ahead, every paladin somehow feeling his glare from the communicators. 

“Yeah, that was my bad,” Lance fidgeted with his controls, “Red moves quicker than, um- it’s- it’s fine. Let’s go find the bomb.” 

“But first, we form Voltron!” Keith let out a battle cry as the lions flew into their practiced position. 

Allura sat cross legged inside Blue, attempting to connect on a deeper level the way her father had always explained it. A single bead of sweat appeared on her brow. The lions locked into their Voltron formation, accompanied by enthusiastic hollars from Hunk and Lance. 

“From a leg to an arm,” Lance let out a satisfied sigh, then raised an eyebrow, “how’s the weather down there, Hunk?” 

“You can’t kick butt without a leg,” Hunk teased back, “back me up here, princess.” 

“This is one of the best moments of my life!” Allura responded, breathless and starstruck. 

“Okay everyone, focus back on the task at hand,” Keith’s eyes were locked on the large, protected building as if by squinting hard enough he could see where the great danger was, “Form sword!” 

\- - - - - - 

Prince Lotor knew better than to underestimate Voltron. He considered the possibility that the paladins might realize the ‘great danger’ they were after was nothing more than a celebration, so he had Narti send a message to the Norrtean’s via their Queen. 

“Hello your highness,” an oranged feathered Norrtean appeared on the screen before the possessed Queen. “Parade preperations continue according to schedule.” 

“Excellent,” said Narti through the Queen, “I will be sending down several Galra diplomats to view your work. They are afterall, our newest allies.” 

The Norrtean face on the screen was bit their lip but then quickly returned to a serene smile, “Of course, your highness.” 

“Dismissed,” the screen went black, as the Queen’s limp body crashed to the ground. 

Prince Lotor raised his voice, “Ezor, Acxa, Narti. Attempt to look as threatening as possible. And remember, do not touch Voltron. The damage done today will be self-inflicted.” 

\- - - - - 

Voltron’s sword appeared, as the bomb grew closer. 

“Are we going in to investigate?” Hunk asked, while Allura frowned at her controls. Something seemed wrong. 

“They’ve no doubt sensed us by now,” Keith said, “So there’s no need for stealth. Blasters, on.” 

“We’re going in through the roof?” Hunk questioned, while simultaneously flicking the feet blaster on. Allura felt panic seize her throat. 

“Yes. Alllura, blasters on.” Keith repeated. 

Suddenly, Allura grinned and relaxed her shoulders. “Blasters coming right up-“ she pushed the blaster lever, and power like none of the paladins had felt before burst from the blue foot. Completely off balance, Voltron shot forward, hitting the roof like a belly flop. The celling began to crumple, as Voltron attempted to stand. 

“That’s never happened before,” Pidge felt the need to point out. 

“Was it too much?” Allura fretted. 

“Looks like we’re going in,” The roof was caving in rapidly. Keith gripped his controls, “Sword, ready to swing at anything Yukonium.” 

Lance barely managed to question, “anything?” before the bricks beneath them gave way and Voltron fell into the building. 

“There!” Keith spotted it easily, all blinking lights and harsh metal. “Aim!” 

Voltron swung the sword in a sweeping arch, efficiently cutting the bomb into two. There was little time to celebrate, as the paladins cheers were interrupted by horrified screams. 

“What’s going on?” Pidge adjusted their glasses. 

“They must see Galra,” Keith reasoned, turning the head of Voltron, “Keep sword ready. The fight isn’t over.” 

The Norrteans sprinted in circles, screaming, like a colony of ants that had been kicked by a meanspirited first grader. The paladins scanned the room. 

“There! By the bomb!” Keith spotted three Galra women, simply standing with vacant expressions. 

“I don’t think they’re screaming because the Galra-“ Lance was cut off by Keith’s orders. 

“Ready sword!” 

Voltron swung at the women, who allowed themselves to be smacked to the wall. 

“Wait!” Lance shouted, eyes wide, “It’s us! They’re scared of- us.” 

Slowly, Voltron lowered sword, as the rest of the paladins took a closer look at the bomb. . . or not a bomb. At a- 

“This says Peace Is Here,” Pidge’s jaw went slack at the realization, “Er- or, it did, before we sliced between the I and S.” 

“We destroyed, some kind of party?” Hunk spoke slowly. 

Keith glanced back to the Norrteans panicked cries, before he found his voice once more, “Everyone, get back to the ship. We need to get out of here now.” 

“We shouldn’t leave without explaining,” Lance insisted. 

“Now’s not the time,” Keith shook his head adamantly, “Retreat!” 

Voltron flew away, as Ezor offered Acxa a hand. 

“That was too easy,” she smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose this title randomly, but I don't know if it really fits the story! If you have a suggestion for a new title, let me know in the comments! :) And thanks for the comments I have gotten! Totally makes my day!


End file.
